Hose and supporter



Nov. 1, 1933. GAINES 2,135,434

I HOSE AND SUPPORTER Filed Sept. 16. 1933 INVENTOR.

EUGENEFGWI VES Patented Nov. 1, 1938 Eugene F. Gaines, Merion, Pa., assignor to H. Birchard Taylor and Chester W. Larner, both of Philadelphia, Pa.

Application September 16, 1933, Serial No. 689,727

3 Claims.

My invention relates to elastic hose supporters preferably attached to and comprising a unit with a hose and also to supporters detachable from the hose.

A great many attempts have heretofore been made to provide hose supporters that are efficient and comfortable to the user and economical to manufacture, but such prior attempts have hadmany deficiencies either in their structural or functional aspects, particularly if it were attempted to have the supporter made as an integral part of the hose so as to be washable therewith.

It is one object of my invention to provide an improved supporter in combination with the hose so as to produce a supporter which is hygienic, due to being washable, and which does not restrict the circulation of blood in the leg unduly. It is a further object to provide a supporter having these characteristics by virtue of an improved arrangement of its component elements which lend themselves to the effective use of woven material containing highly elastic threads or fibres which will not deteriorate unduly from washing or from age, exposure to air or'perspiration. It is a still further object to have the elements of my improved supporter so arranged that they are preferably devoid of metal attachments, such as hooks, clasps and slides.

A still further object is to provide a supporter with a high degree of simplicity of design whereby it may not only be manufactured economically but may be easily and permanently attached to the hose and be made to conform readily to all shapes and sizes of legs without adjustment of slides, clasps or hooks, as such elements are very objectionable in laundering.

A further object is to provide asupporter having preferably one or two component elements so as to fit the leg smoothly and naturally without puckering and so as to fold neatly when off the leg.

A further and.- more specific object of the invention is to provide a supporter in which the elements are formed from straight pieces of elastic braid with the ends of one of said straight pieces being connected to the hose to form a loop. and the other element, in one specific embodiment of the invention, being suitably connected to the first named element so as to form a loop and to cause the first named element to function effectively in holding the hose in place. As a result of my improved construction, I employ the novel principle of causing the hose to be practically hung on the upper convex curve of the leg muscle instead of being hung by a vertical strap from a band encircling the leg as in the case of the usual garter designs. .Hence in my improved invention the supporter does not grip the leg and is much more comfortable, hygienic and effective. Other objects and advantages will be more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of one form of hosiery unit; Fig. 2 is a front View of the same unit;

Fig. 3 is a view of the same unit collapsed and folded flat as it would be when not in position on the leg;

Fig. 4 shows a separate supporter of the same general design as that used in Fig. 3 but provided with catches for attachment to the hose;

Figs. 5 and 6 are side elevations of modified forms of the supporter showing their relation to the hose and user.

Referring to Fig. 1, the unit consists of a hose I to which is attached by stitching or in other suitablemanner a suspension member 2 consisting of a strip of highly elastic webbing or braid in the form of a loop which passes around the back of the leg above the calf muscle, this loop preferably being elastic throughout its length although in accordance with the principles of the invention as herein set forth, the loop may be variously arranged to obtain the necessary extent of elasticity in order to accomplish the results and mode of operation of my invention. A connector member 3, preferably made of similar material, is

either permanently or detachably fastened at each end to the suspension member 2 and passes member 2.

but this stitching need not be elastic.

The effect of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1

is practically to hang the hose on the calf muscle of the leg and thus to hold it up securely without gripping the leg unnecessarily. ment of supporter will fit the leg more neatly and without puckering if suspension member 2 is con- This arrangenected to each side of the hose at a point closer to the front of the leg than to the back.

The design shown is very simple, consisting merely of two loops of elastic material sewed together and attached to the hose.

This design involves very little material and labor and is therefore inexpensive. It is more comfortable than the ordinary type of garter, is washable, will fit any size and shape of leg due to the highly elastic properties of the material used and is much more conveniently applied than'the ordinary type of garter because it pulls on over the foot with the hose and has no clasps or adjustments.

The form in which the supporter element is made up and attached to the hose is better illustrated in Fig. 3 which shows the hose collapsed and folded fiat and the supporter likewise. It will be seen that the suspension member! has an end attached to each side of the hose so that it extends vertically upward whereas the connector member 3 is attached to 2 at such an angle that when applied to the leg it will be approximately horizontal.

In the case of a supporter permanently attached to the hose it is important for commercial reasons that it'should'be possible to'fold the sup,-

porter neatly and preferably'to be able to fold it inside of the hose. This may be done, with my invention as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. The suspension. member 2 is turned inside out within the hose and the connector member 3 is pushed backward into a reverse position inside the loop of member 2.

A design of separate supporter is shown'in Fig.

'4. This view shows. the supporter folded flat as '9 in respect to its function of suspending the hose.

Fig. 6 shows an alternative arrangement, similar to Fig. 1. In this case the suspension loop is made in three .pieces, a loop l2 connected'at each end to a strip 13. The strips I3 are attached to the hose, permanently or detachably, and to the connector. loop I. Obviously the joints between l2, l3 and I4 may be. arranged in various'ways without materially affecting the relative positions of the parts. or the functioning of'the assembly.

In order that the supporter may stretch freely to pass over the'foot, maybe washed with the hose and maybe unaffected by chemicals so that it may be dyed with the hose after attachment thereto; it ispreferablethat it should be made of braid or webbing containing highly elastic fila.-' ments running in a longitudinal direction and that these filaments should be unaffected by ordinary chemicals used in dyeing and. presentin perspiration and that the elastic material should notdeteriorate by exposure to the air asv in the case of filaments made from out rubber whichare' commonly used in the manufacture of garters. It is also desirable that thecomporient parts of the supporter should be connected by' means which do not restrain the stretch of the parts as, for example, by elastic stitching. This insures the parts adjusting themselves to the shape of the leg without puckering and avoids the use of the pivoting or swinging metal hooks customary with the usual type of. garter.

The most suitable material for my purpose is described in Patent Numbers 1,822,847 and 1,545,257. My invention, however, is not restricted to the use of this particular material, it being possible to accomplish my results with any material of similar characteristics.

The simplicity of design and mode of use of my supporter may under certain circumstances permit attachment to the hose by any suitable clasps and may also permit either the suspension or. connector members, but not'both, to be made of non- 'elastic material although it is of course preferable that both members are elastic to obtain the full functional cooperation thereof.

Obviously it is not essential that the loops 0 my supporter should be made throughout their length of the same material, although it is usually preferable to'do so. The loops are continuous in the. sense that they are not made in sections which may be disconnected from each other as in the case of the usual type. of garter; Theyare not continuous in the sense that they must neces-'- sarily be made of a single strip of uniform material. Fig. 6, for example, shows a loop composed of the separate portions l2 and I3 permanently connected together.

From a commercial standpoint it is obviously important that'a supporter should be attachable to any hose in commonuse in the trade. In the past, certain types of supporter have been devised which required a special hose provided with tabs or openings inthe tops tofit the supporter. This interferes with the universal application of the supporter and such supporters have found little, if any, use. My invention may beattached' in various-ways to any hose with a uniformly woven top, whichis thecustomary type of manufacture.

, It will of course be understood that various changes maybe made in the details of construcand passing around the back of the leg above the calf'thereof, a front loop connected to said other loop at an angle thereto when in the unused state and positioned transversely of the leg to pass around the front thereof at a position such as to provide a space between said front loop and the top' of the hose, and two strips permanently formed with said loops to form an integral unit therewith, and said strips being connected to the top of.the hose on each side of the leg and extending upwardly from the hose substantially longitudinally of the leg and at an angle to said oblique portion.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said first-named loop and said strips are made of separate pieces of material stitched together at their ends.

. 3. The combination set forth. in claim 1 further characterized in that said first-named loop and said strips are formed in an angular relation toeach other whenin'the unused state,'an'd means for permanentlysecuring said strips and loop in said angular relation. 

